The Big Bang Theory: "The Tangerine Factor" Review

Sheldon helps Leonard and Penny while also learning Mandarin.

Ever since the pilot, we've waited for Leonard and Penny to form some sort of relationship. They've shared a kiss on a few occasions, but the fact that Penny has always had a guy in her life has kept Leonard at a distance. He just needed a way in and he got that when Penny split up with her boyfriend after he blogged about their sex life.

The scene where Leonard asked Penny was a little uneasy. Penny was crying about her past relationship problems and Leonard was very nervous. And afterwards, it all seemed anticlimactic. Penny saying she didn't have anything to lose by going out with Leonard wasn't much of a confidence-builder for Leonard. It was funny, but we also felt for the guy.

As time passed, both Penny and Leonard began having doubts about them going out. They weren't sure how things would work out and it all gave Sheldon a great opportunity to bring up Schrödinger's cat, an interesting paradox. The only way for either of them to know how things will work out is for them to just try it. They'll never know any other way.

As far as sitcoms go, there was a fair amount of drama in the season finale. It made the episode feel quite a bit different from all of the previous episodes. Thankfully, Sheldon stepped up and played a central role in making the show funny. The scene in Penny's apartment was a great example of this. Not many writers can make a scene about selecting the right place to sit very funny, so we give the writers a lot of credit.

We're not going to get too excited about Penny and Leonard going out on a date or two. Yes, it's nice that something is finally happening between the two of them, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. These two characters are very different, and although we would like to think that they'll end up together, there's nothing that says they're destined to. But whatever happens, we know it's going to be hilarious.